'I almost became homeless'
Star-Telegram staff writer
THE LIKA FAMILY
PARENT: Vedat Lika, 52
CHILDREN: Arman Lika, 5; Madison Lika, 5.
RESIDENCE: Fort Worth
OCCUPATION: Chef
ANNUAL INCOME: $40,000
Vedat Lika, a single father of two 5-year-olds, goes to his new job each weekday at East Fort Worth Montessori School, sporting his chef's apron and hat.
He had been unemployed since August.
As the rich aromas of eggplant Parmesan and wheat rolls fill the school kitchen, Lika can relax again.
"I worried about being homeless, but things are looking up for me now," he said. "Everything I asked for is falling into place. It's like I jumped out of a plane and fell into it."
The past eight months have been a struggle for Lika, 52.
He got laid off from his job managing a cafeteria in an Arlington office building, where he earned $32,500 a year.
Then, he lost $650 a month in unemployment benefits because he didn't promptly report a two-day temporary kitchen job at Fort Worth's River Crest Country Club.
He scraped together the $550-a-month rent, which includes utilities, for his one-bedroom apartment with loans and gifts from relatives in New York and from agencies including Catholic Charities. Lika also received food stamps.
Being a good parent is important to Lika. He takes parenting classes paid for by Catholic Charities.
And he turned down several job offers because he would have had to work nights and weekends, shuttling his children from day care to baby sitters. He also wondered how he could afford child care with most jobs offering salaries in the $10-an-hour range.
His two children, Arman and Madison, were born to different mothers. Madison is undergoing intensive counseling because of abuse endured before she lived with her father. The months of constant worrying about how to make ends meet and how to care for his children took a heavy toll. He often awoke at night with headaches or had trouble sleeping.
On May 1, Lika was hired as a chef for the Tarrant Area Food Bank's Community Kitchen program in Fort Worth at an annual salary of $40,000. At East Fort Worth Montessori, he teaches adults with low incomes basic cooking skills to prepare them for entry-level jobs in restaurants, bakeries, hospitals and other companies.
"I almost became homeless," he said. "Here, I am helping them. One hand washes the other."
Lika's supervisor, Lylette Pharr, said the food bank got his résumé at a chef's association meeting.
"I thought he would be a good fit," she said. "The folks we are working with are vulnerable because of life circumstances. We needed someone who could be sensitive to their needs."
Lika also has 30 years of cooking experience. The Albanian-American came to the Fort Worth area from New York about seven years ago to help a relative open a restaurant in Arlington.
Although Lika is working, he has to pull himself out of heavy debt.
He accumulated about $17,000 in credit card debt from paying for child care when he was working in Arlington and to cover expenses, such as some counseling sessions for his daughter, when he was unemployed.
He also owes $1,800 to the Texas Workforce Commission for his unemployment benefits because of regulations stemming from his reporting error to the agency.
But Lika has learned not to let stress get the best of him.
His immaculate, one-bedroom apartment near Ridgmar mall is surrounded by trees. It is a quiet place for the family.
At the end of day, the children, home from day care, watch Sesame Street and Clifford while Lika reads and sips green tea and honey.
A bulletin board is filled with Post-it Notes reminding Lika of his daily schedule, but there are also positive messages like, "Don't sweat the small stuff."
Elizabeth Campbell, 817-390-7696
